Only God
Chapter 277 - 238 Nobles

Chapter 277: Chapter 238 Nobles

Inside the Palace, ministers and nobles bowed their heads in silence, awaiting the King’s words.

General Bek, along with the generals of Ajia Royal City, knelt before the throne.

As they looked up at the one seated on the throne, they also accepted the scrutiny from above.

King Anuket looked down upon them, the secular authority of Ajia Land, determined to win the war.

He would not and could not accept defeat in this war. How could Kagawulus’s creation, the prophetic Three-eyed Ape People, be defeated by the blood-drinking Beastmen?

"I will grant you swords, grant you armor, and grant you chariots and steeds."

King Anuket, in the presence of his officials, slowly promised various rewards to the generals,

"If you return in triumph, I shall grant you eternal lands, that your descendants may enjoy boundless glory under the achievements of today."

The generosity of King Anuket was undeniable, and everyone knew that, despite his severe laws, he was a man of his word.

The generals knelt before the throne, both exhilarated by the war and trembling under the King’s gaze.

"My swords, what is your response?"

King Anuket looked down upon them, questioning.

General Bek, along with the lead generals, slightly raised their heads, their hands trembling uncontrollably, their sense of ominous foreboding growing stronger. Yet within the Palace, not one dared contradict the King’s command.

Thus, he stiffened his neck and boldly asked the King,

"Your Majesty, have you prophesied about this war?"

General Bek dared not openly defy the resolute King, but he was making one final attempt to save the situation.

"General Bek, are you doubting my command?"

King Anuket coldly regarded the general before him,

"My High Priest Hetep has already prophesied that this war will bring vast lands to the Kingdom, seizing the Beastmen’s sheep and cattle, causing their women to weep, their tears enough to form rivers."

Upon hearing this, General Bek’s uneasy premonition only intensified.

Prophecies could not be defied; they had to be fulfilled, as they were the path of fate, revelations from Kagawulus.

But as a Three-eyed Ape Person, bestowed with the grace of Kagawulus, nearly every sage knew that, clear as a prophecy might be, it only reflected one aspect of fate, just as rivers do not reflect one’s entire being.

Moreover, even the most potent Three-eyed Ape People, being mortal, often produced unclear prophecies.

"Your Majesty, that prophecy... is that prophecy truly..."

General Bek anxiously spoke.

King Anuket’s expression changed slightly, his eyes showing a hint of annoyance.

At that moment, Casas’s father—Vice Chancellor Ibia stood out, admonishing Bek:

"General Bek, are you still questioning His Majesty’s command?

His Majesty is blessed by Kagawulus, wouldn’t he worry before you?"

After Vice Chancellor Ibia spoke, General Bek’s shoulders trembled, and he found himself at a loss for words.

King Anuket’s imperious nature forced the ministers to not challenge any of His Majesty’s commands but instead to flatter his wisdom.

The Vice Chancellor had always been opportunistic, courting favor with King Oton when he was alive, and being utterly loyal to Queen Isis when she wielded significant power.

Now with King Anuket in power, the shrewd Ibia Vice Chancellor naturally supported the King’s decisions to the fullest.

And this Vice Chancellor was merely a reflection of the ministers.

Following Vice Chancellor Ibia’s words, the officials stood out, creating an uproar as they accused the generals of cowardice and questioned their ability to bear great responsibilities and their loyalty to the King.

"Enough, stop."

King Anuket said indifferently.

He looked down upon the generals being verbally assaulted, their trembling obedience greatly satisfying the King.

No one dared to oppose him, no one could refute him; all was under the control of his scepter.

This was the demeanor of a true sovereign.

"General Bek, I know you have concerns, but all that you are worried about is merely your excessive nervousness."

King Anuket did not echo the Vice Chancellor’s rebuke towards General Bek; instead, he softened the anger in his eyes and spoke reassuringly.

Vice Chancellor Ibia had already aligned with his intentions, chastising General Bek’s timidity, so there was no need to add fuel to the fire.

This was the art of ruling over his subjects.

"Besides you, I have consulted several other generals, you should know that in this Kingdom, you are not the only one who leads troops."

General Bek turned his head and looked back at a few generals.

One of them then spoke,

"General Bek, I respect you, but right now you are worrying excessively. We all know the Beastmen are suffering from the ravages of war; how could they resist Ajia’s sharp blades?"

General Bek fell silent, perhaps it was just his excessive worries after all; the other generals did not share his ominous premonitions.

And besides his premonition, he saw no chance of defeat in this battle.

Finally, General Bek could only say,

"Kagawulus, oh mysterious prophecy, guide us in our path."

......

After a brief expeditionary meeting, King Anuket sat on the throne, listening to the ministers report on the major and minor affairs of the Kingdom.

King Anuket was not a foolish king, otherwise, he could not have monopolized the great power of the Kingdom.

If anything could describe a king, it would be only two words: wise and selfish.

The wisdom lay in how King Anuket assessed the situation; he had learned early on to coordinate the powers of all sides, listening to the voices of the ministers while adroitly dividing them into different factions, making them fight each other, and submitting to his rule.

Above the Palace, represented by Hetep, the Priests stood on the side closest to the throne.

The King’s piercing eyes scrutinized each person who reported to him.

The fact that the Priests, originally dedicated to serving Kagawus, could appear in the Palace was a tactic of King Anuket.

To balance those ministers, King Anuket brought the Priests into the Palace under the pretext of "witnessing the Mortal World for Kagawus."

Thanks to this, the Priests successfully became involved in politics and formed a unique interest group.

This was just the tip of the iceberg of King Anuket’s political maneuvers.

Since the positions within the Ajia Kingdom were generally hereditary or appointed by the King, King Anuket, particularly during the early years of his reign, focused on wooing wanders like Vice Chancellor Ibia, suppressing the stubborn ones, and after several years, the stubborn ministers mostly dissipated, and those originally wooed wanders rose in power, only for King Anuket to crush them mercilessly.

The nature of the wanders was to turn at the slightest breeze; although they had grown in power, they were just a disorganized mob, accepting the King’s suppression without resistance.

A noble minister stepped forward to report to the King.

"Your Majesty, the riots by the Stone Slaves in southern Leia have finally ended.

They had previously murdered their overseers and escaped from the mines, and were all captured by us two weeks ago.

Their daring to conspire was all instigated by the True Believers."

The noble’s tone shifted as he continued:

"During the interrogation, I learned that three out of ten Stone Slaves believed in the so-called Heavenly City, and some even openly cursed Kagawus and our Priests in prison."

As his words fell, the other Nobles in the Palace immediately started a buzz of discussion.

During the era of Queen Isis, there had been nobles advising Queen Isis, outlining the hazard of the True Believers’ faith to Kagawus and the entire Kingdom.

However, at that time, the Prophet’s influence had not yet faded, and Queen Isis ignored these advisories.

But now, more than twenty years later, with the stories of the Prophet gradually receding, King Anuket’s political tactics had increased the influence of the Great Temple Priests.

The Nobles, already dissatisfied with the True Religion, along with the need to be close to the Priests, had once again sparked a wave of opposition to the True Religion.

Although nearly a thirteenth of the Nobles became True Believers, they were mostly from the lower nobility and were few compared to the majority of the Nobles in the Royal City.

Opposition to the True Religion was not just because of the inherited faith of Kagawus in the Nobles, which could hardly tolerate the desecration by the True Religion, but also because of interests and desires playing their parts.

The existence of the True Religion had shaken the original interests of the Nobles.

Most True Believers were lowly Stone Slaves who had originally obeyed the Nobles’ every command like livestock, maintaining the established order.

But after the Church appeared, those Preachers promoted the Prophet who originated from a Stone Slave.

In the eyes of the Nobles, the actions of the Preachers were like the temptations of a Witch, causing the Stone Slaves to gradually become unsatisfied with their status and even, under the guise of mutual aid prescribed by the True Believers, gather, pray, and form societies without authorization.

As the Stone Slaves became more united, they began to demand more rights from the Nobles, and when pushed to their limits, the Nobles had to cede more benefits to these slaves.

Therefore, the Nobles harbored plenty of accusations against the Church, such as "that religion is evil and dangerous," and "those slaves are bewitched, disloyal to the King and the country." Such statements were rampant.

In their view, the True Religion was a "destructive social and orderly" religion.

In fact, the Royal City was already considered an enlightened place.

In other remote city-states of the Kingdom where devotion to Kagawus was strong, the order of the Nobles was even more unshakable, and they hated the Preachers even more.

"Your Majesty, allowing the True Religion to run wild and letting the True Believers grow stronger, it won’t be long before everyone in the entire Palace will be True Believers!"

The Vice Chancellor stood out and loudly advised King Anuket.

Seeing this, other Nobles echoed in agreement, as if this one Chancellor represented everyone’s thoughts.

Vice Chancellor Ibia, after hesitating, stepped forward and said:

"Great Anuket, our King, in my view, this is excessively alarmist. Although I do not deny the harm the True Believers bring to the Kingdom, but... the New Rule Garden, did it not bring us Ancient Language?"

King Anuket stared at Vice Chancellor Ibia, who involuntarily flinched.

"Is it so that if someone achieves great success at a young age but later commits treason, they should not be executed?"

The Vice Chancellor replied with a sneer:

"These True Believers inciting Stone Slaves to rebel isn’t just once or twice; although it has always been small-scale rebellions, if unchecked, it will one day cause a great disaster."

The Nobles were so undaunted by the Church’s possession of Ancient Language because the Church did not monopolize this Extraordinary Power.

The Prophet who brought the Ancient Language, regardless of wealth, creed, or social status, would teach the God-given Ancient Language after preaching in the New Rule Garden.

Because he did not act on human desires but on the will of God.

Those Stone Slaves who had been taught the Ancient Language, belonging to various Nobles, most often unreservedly informed their masters of the Ancient Language taught by the Prophet, in exchange for rewards.

And at that time, there were also some Stone Slaves who, on the orders of their masters, feigned conversion to the True Religion.

Now, due to the Prophet’s preaching, the Ancient Language had spread almost unhindered far and wide, even the Beastmen of the Wilderness could understand some of it.

But this also inadvertently created the current situation for the Church.

King Anuket’s hatred for the Church was never his unilateral decision.